WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said that he is open to meeting with leaders from longtime US rival Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian.

"I think we're going to make a deal with Iran. Nobody else could do that," said Trump, who has repeatedly touted his deal-making prowess, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday.

Asked whether he is open to meeting Khamenei or Pezeshkian, Trump replied: "Sure."

Denying reports which claimed that he stopped Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear sites, Trump said: "No, it’s not right. I didn’t stop them. But I didn't make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack. I hope we can.”

Asked whether he is worried Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could drag the US into a war, Trump said: "No."

"By the way, he may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in," he added.

But when asked whether the US will stay out of a war if Israel enters one, Trump said: "No, I didn’t say that. You asked if he’d drag me in, like I’d go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack."

The next round of indirect talks between the US and Iran is set to be held Saturday in the Gulf state of Oman.

Iran and the US held two rounds of negotiations in Oman and Italy earlier this month, with both countries describing the talks as “constructive.”

Trump has threatened military action against Iran if a new nuclear agreement is not reached to replace the 2015 nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration, which Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, during his first term.